Toy Story 5 Just Released Its Opening Scene - And It Reveals a Major Buzz Lightyear Twist

Buzz Lightyear will be the center of a wild twist during the opening moments of Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5. Three decades after Toy Story became Pixar's flagship movie, the franchise will now continue into a fifth movie centered on Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Andy Davis' old crew of children's playthings. 

The Direct's Savannah Sanders was in attendance at Destination D23's Walt Disney Studios showcase in Orlando on Saturday morning, during which Pixar showed off its Toy Story 5 opening to attendees. The scene started with Tim Allen's Buzz Lightyear in a POV shot, opening his eyes and looking at a palm tree overhead. Seeming lost, this Buzz sees a box for another Buzz model labeled, "Hi-Tech Edition," before running off. 

Entering a shipwreck shipping crate filled with unopened action figures, the Buzzes are all activated. They march to the edge of the island and realize they are stranded, dropping their heads in unison and feeling defeated.

Next, the army of Buzzes assembles at night around a fire, and one looks up at the sky and says, "Star." The rest of them reply, "Command," before the entire group starts chanting, "Rendezvous with Star Command." As this chant goes on, the group builds a massive raft and uses it to head out into the ocean while gazing up at the stars.

Toy Story 5 is deep into development for Disney and Pixar, with Andrew Stanton returning to direct the sequel. While the film brings back Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear, and most of the original gang, story details are still unknown; however, Pixar CEO Pete Docter teased some "surprising" and "really cool stuff" in the story. Toy Story 5 is expected to hit theaters on June 19, 2026.

Is Toy Story 5's Buzz Twist Reality or Fantasy?

Toy Story fans distinctly remember Pixar's tendencies for the opening scenes from most of this franchise's movies, all of which are epic in scale. Whether the toys were with Andy Davis or Bonnie Anderson, these sequences show the kids playing with Woody and his friends, although the scenes are depicted as the events of playtime really happening.

For instance, Toy Story 3 started with a revamped version of the opening scene from the original Toy Story, but with the story made real. Toy Story 2's opening highlighted Buzz in action against the evil Emperor Zurg, which was then revealed to be a video game Rex was playing in Andy's room.

While the toys' current owner is still unknown, this movie is confirmed to focus on the rise of technology and how it affects kids' habits when it comes to playing with traditional toys. Fans are already worried about the fate of a couple of original Toy Story characters, and given how long this franchise has run, the future for other heroes may be uncertain.

The big question after this scene is where Tim Allen's original Buzz is, as none of the Buzzes in the opening had Andy or Bonnie's name written on his foot. With a full trailer likely to debut either by the end of 2025 or early 2026, fans will be eager to find out the truth behind this opening sequence and learn more details about what will happen to Buzz and the gang moving forward.